Novel High-Holding-Voltage Shunt-Triggered SCR for Robust ESD Protection

A novel high holding voltage Shunt-Triggered Silicon-controlled Rectifier (STSCR) has been developed using 0.18-<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m Bipolar CMOS DMOS (BCD) technology to simultaneously improve holding voltage (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {h}}\text {)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and failure current (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {t {2}}}\text {)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. Unlike conventional <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {h}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-optimized approaches, the STSCR enhances <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {h}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> through a newly-designed metal triggering bridge (MTB) structure, which redirects the current vector of the effective trigger current (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {t {1}}}\text {)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and modifies the initial holding current (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {h}}\text {)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> distribution, resulting in a significantly <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {h}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> enhancement. Transmission line pulse (TLP) measurements demonstrate a remarkable performance improvement, elevating <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{\text {h}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> from conventional 2.5 V to 5.3 V with an outstanding <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{\text {t {2}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 2.77 A at <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$50~\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>m finger width. Furthermore, the Transient-induced Latch-Up (TLU) tests with varying pulse widths confirm the STSCR’s latch-up (LU) immunity across different ambient temperatures.